Star forward Cam Delaney is among three outs for Drysdale ahead of Saturday’s mouthwatering meeting with Geelong Amateur at KFC Oval.
The former Grovedale star suffered an ankle injury late in the win over Queenscliff before last week’s bye and is likely to be sidelined until next month.
“It’s a bit of ligament damage,” coach Ben Carmichael said.
“He’ll be 3-4 weeks from when it happened, so he’ll miss this week, and he might miss another one.
However, Delaney’s absence has been offset by the return of veteran Tom Ruggles for his first game since the Round 4 win over Newcomb.
“We didn’t Cam for the first couple of weeks, so we’ve got a few guys in there that can play that tall forward role.
“But, we’ve also got some dangerous smalls who can roam around.
“We’ll shape up pretty similar to how we do, but just without Cam.”
Nick Egan (knee) is facing up to three weeks on the sidelines, while Tom Randone is unlikely to be seen again until after the July bye due to a foot injury.
Captain Mitch McGuire (quad) will miss another week, with Declan Foley a definite inclusion for his first senior game since Round 12 last year.
One-time BFNL Rookie of the Year Kyle Davis is in the mix for his first senior appearance for the Hawks since 2019.
Cam Lewis, Xavier Muhor and Aaron Willitts have been listed as inclusions for Ammos.
James Lee and Jack Gaspari have been omitted.
Newcomb has regained big man Jarrod Stafford, key forward Andrew Steele and defender Tom Smith for its battle with fellow winless team Ocean Grove at Winter Reserve.
The Power have made five changes in total, with Sam McDonald to debut and Darcy Huntly-Mitchell to make his first senior appearance of the season.
Pat McGinley, Caleb Law, Jim Hall, Oli Marshall, and Charlie Harvey have gone out of the team that lost to Anglesea before the bye, which coach Tony Mirabella says came at the right time.
“‘We needed that circuit-breaker,” he said.
“I think having a couple of close games against good sides, then falling away against teams we expected to be very competitive against, was not ideal for the group.
“We don’t deserve to be 0-6.
“Post-bye, we’ve got three or four coming back in, and the boys are refreshed and ready, so it’ll be good to launch in on Saturday.”
Jake Lindrea will play his first senior game of the season among three changes for Queenscliff, which is preparing to face the undefeated Torquay at the Couta Bowl.
Sol Bowtell and Patrick Bradley return, replacing the unavailable Will Baker, injured Jo Cincotta, and omitted Matt Golightly.
The Tigers have named star midfielder Patrick Hughes, but he will play with Geelong’s VFL team.
Defender Billy Henderson returns for his first game since Round 4.
Modewarre has welcomed back captain Jeremy Ollis from injury and recalled Jackson O’Hanlon for a crucial clash with Barwon Heads at Mt Moriac.
They replace Liam Graham and Jack Slater.
The Seagulls have made six changes, with co-coach Mitch Herbison, captain Kyle Polley and Geelong Falcon Marly Cornell along the inclusions.
Brock Close, Harry King and Jye Bartley are also back.
Matt Ogle is unavailable, and Lachie Slorach has a hamstring issue, while Harry Hyland, Darby Graham, Harvey Lardner, and Luca Vella have been dropped.
Anglesea has made three forced changes for its meeting with Portarlington at Ellimatta Reserve.
The Roos have lost Courtney Wedderburn (shoulder), Liam Holland (hamstring) and Dyl Pettingill (groin) from the team that defeated Newcomb before the bye.
Meanwhile, Anton Woods has been managed, and Matthew Connell has been dropped.
Will Batson is back, while Josh King, Myles Brinkworth, and debutants James Gray and Liam Carolan have been promoted from the reserves.
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